Cao Wei

The Kingdom of Cao Wei, also known as the Wei Empire or simply as Wei, was a Chinese absolute monarchy that lasted from 220 AD until 265 AD. Its foundations were laid down by Cao Cao, who had a collection of valuable officers to aid his conquest. It spanned northern China and the Central Plains, the largest of the Three Kingdoms, and had its capital at Chang'an.

Rise of Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a Yu Province warlord who hailed from the northeast of China, but was made Captain of Luoyang in 175 AD and was transferred to the capital, which was in Central China. Cao Cao distinguished himself in the Yellow Turban Campaign of 184 AD, and rose to power by defeating several rival warlords, and his finest victory was at the Battle of Guandu in 200 AD, where he defeated 100,000 of Yuan Shao's troops with only 20,000 troops at his side. This victory allowed him to take over all of the north and the Central Plains, and in the last days of 200 AD, he was made Prime Minister, leading to the collapse of the Later Han.

Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan effectively created the "Three Kingdoms" in 214 AD even before they declared themselves emperors (separate from the Han), with Cao Cao taking the north and center, Liu Bei capturing Yi Province and western China, and Sun Quan holding Jing Province in the center and most of eastern and southern China. Cao Cao not only fought the kingdoms of Shu Han and Eastern Wu, but also the barbarian tribes that inhabited the north. He defeated these tribes at White Wolf Mountain in 207 AD, but a year later, he was defeated by a Liu-Sun alliance at Chi Bi (Red Cliffs) on the Yangtze River, which was the last chance to destroy Liu Bei and Sun Quan without a protracted struggle.

Cao Cao launched many campaigns against these kingdoms until his death in 220 AD, and his heir apparent Cao Pi became the new leader of his domain. He was the first to declare himself independent from the Han, deposing the last nominal emperor and declaring himself Emperor of Wei.

Reign of Cao Pi 220-226
The first years of Cao Pi's short reign were spent building up Wei's armed forces and putting down internal dissent. In 222 AD, when Shu and Wu made an alliance after Liu Bei's death after the Battle of Yi Ling, Cao Pi raised an army of 100,000 troops and invaded Wu from three directions: Dongkou, Ruxukou, and Jiangling. Cao Pi was severely wounded at Dongkou, while he barely managed to escape the disaster of Ruxukou with his wife Zhen Ji and his army. In 223 AD he returned northwards and defeated an invasion by Shu at Xiping Gate.

Cao Pi's death in 226 AD of natural causes was premature; he reigned only six years before his untimely passing. He was succeeded by Cao Rui.

Reign of Cao Rui 226-239
Cao Rui's tenure as emperor was dominated by the leadership of Sima Yi, a Cao Wei General who carefully resisted the northern expeditions of Shu general Zhuge Liang. Cao Rui took personal command of Wei forces in the Siege of He Fei Castle in 234 AD against the army of Sun Quan, while Sima Yi fought the talented Zhuge Liang on the western front. Cao Rui did not appear at the Wu Zhang Plains, the decisive battle with Shu, which resulted in the death of Zhuge Liang and the end of his invasions. However, he soon caught ill, and when he died, Cao Shuang took over the regency.

Usurpation of Sima Yi
With the death of Cao Rui, Emperor Cao Fang was left under the care of Cao Shuang, a relative of his through Cao Zhen. Cao Shuang was an inept military commander, disliked for his carousing. General Sima Yi was made the commander of the Wei armed forces, and after the Battle of Mt. Xingshi in 244 AD that resulted in a crushing Wei defeat, it was clear to Sima Yi that Cao Shuang was not fit for ruling Wei. In 249 AD, in the palace of Luoyang, Sima Yi defeated Cao Shuang's followers in the court before chasing Cao Shuang, who had just arrived in the palace, to the throne room, and killed him. Cao Shuang's death left Sima Yi as the regent, but he died later that year and left the fate of the family to his son Sima Shi, who had served with merit in the Northern Expeditions. Sima Shi had fought in the Battle of Jie Ting, the Battle of Mt. Qi, and the Battle of Wu Zhang Plains, and knew about military experience.

The Tyranny of Sima Shi


The rule of Sima Shi was dominated by rebellions against his rule by hardline Wei retainers, assisted by Wu on most occasions. In 251 AD he crushed Wang Ling's rebellion, which was supported by Wu general Ding Feng, and in 252 AD, he invaded Wu, but his army was divided by the Chang Jiang River and defeated by Zhuge Ke. However, Sima Zhao defeated Zhuge Ke's invasion of Hefei, and Zhuge was killed by Sun Jun. He also oversaw the defeat of several Shu invasions of the north, led by Jiang Wei.

In 253 AD Sima Shi was hit in the eye with a throwing dagger flung by an assassin sent by Zhang Qi, on the orders of Cao Fang. He deposed the emperor and replaced him with Cao Mao. Sima Shi was also wounded while quelling the rebellion of Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin a year later, also aided by Wu; he was shot in the eye by an arrow. Shortly after the end of the rebellion, he died in his bed, throwing his sword to his younger brother Sima Zhao before he died.

Reign of Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao was formerly a young military general who was incompetent and lazy, but after the death of his brother, his wife Wang Yuanji convinced him to give up his old ways and mature. Sima Zhao's first challenge was to defeat the Shu invasion at the Tao River, and he also defeated a Shu invasion at Guangzhong and Duangu. In 262 AD, Sima Zhao's army killed the treasonous Wei general Xiahou Ba, who had fled to Shu following the death of Cao Shuang; he felt that Sima Yi betrayed Wei, but ironically, he fought Wei on every northern expedition.

Sima Zhao's finest moment came in his masterful invasion of Shu Han in 263 AD, which was planned by his generals Deng Ai and Zhong Hui. Sima Zhao's invasion force was made up of 180,000 Wei troops, led by generals such as Xu Yi, Jia Chong, and Wen Yang. The Cao Wei Army was victorious in Bashu, a natural fortress, and also defeated Zhuge Zhan and Zhuge Shang in the Mianzhu Forests outside of the Shu capital of Chengdu. When the Wei attacked Chengdu, the Shu defeat was total, almost all of their loyal officers falling. Sima Zhao then crushed Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui's Rebellion a year later, although Deng Ai was killed. Sima Zhao died later that year, and just as Wei was founded, it was destroyed; upon his death, his successor Sima Yan overthrew Wei and founded the Jin Empire, without the need for being a regent over an Emperor: he was an Emperor himself.